Kenneth Baer

Recent Articles

In what may be the largest pro-Israel gathering in the world (Israel included), 5,000 pro-Israel activists from all 50 states will descend on Washington this weekend for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) annual policy conference and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the pro-Israel lobbying organization. When I traveled with then-Vice President Al Gore to this meeting in 2000, he was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation, especially when he chastised the Bush Senior administration for promoting “linkage,” the use of loan guarantees to pressure Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians. In light of this record, the appearance of George W. Bush that year was noteworthy in and of itself, and his short address was met with polite applause. Four years later and the scheduled closing address Tuesday promises to be the second coming of George W. Bush. The AIPAC audience undoubtedly will embrace Bush as a conquering hero -- literally. Bush...

Why am I writing this column? I'm not your standard American Prospect material. I'm a New Democrat, and I wrote a book called Reinventing Democrats: The Politics of Liberalism from Reagan to Clinton , the first and only history of the rise of this upstart party faction. Reinventing Democrats didn't exactly tear up the best-seller list. Its readership centered mainly on those who personally have met Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) founder Al From or who attended my bar mitzvah. Yet my positive take on the subject put me clearly on the New Democratic side in this intraparty fight. However, when one considers all that has happened since 2000, this offer to join The American Prospect 's regular stable of online columnists is not that shocking. Rather, this small gesture is part of the larger movement toward reconciliation and greater understanding between liberal and New Democrats -- and the shared quest to craft a post-Clinton Democratic Party that is relevant to the issues the...